BASEBALL NOTES

The Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates found their fifth starters, forcing Mark Portugal and Pete Schourek to look for new jobs.

Three days after announcing that Portugal was their fifth starter, the Reds changed their minds and released him Wednesday.

The Pirates did the same to Schourek, who thought he had earned the No. 5 spot in Pittsburgh's rotation with a strong outing a day before.

The about-face stunned Portugal, rotation replacement Rob Bell and a clubhouse full of teammates who thought the pitching staff was set. Portugal's rough outing Tuesday prompted general manager Jim Bowden to change his mind.

"Bewildered is probably the best word I can come up with," right-hander Pete Harnisch said. "Shocked is probably another one."

Portugal had a 4.50 ERA when Bowden announced that he'd won the fifth starter's job. His Tuesday outing raised it to 6.00, still the second-lowest in a rotation that has struggled this spring.

"They didn't really get into some of the reasons, but I just think the timing of it's kind of weird," Portugal said.

Convinced that Schourek was no longer the pitcher who won 18 games for Cincinnati in 1995, the Pirates released Schourek and gave rookie left-hander Jimmy Anderson the job.

Only one day earlier, Schourek - who is guaranteed $2 million - seemed to have secured a spot in the rotation by limiting a Minnesota split squad to two runs in six innings, his best start this spring.

"I'm confident I can pitch," said Schourek, 4-7 with a 5.34 ERA last season. "They told me it was a numbers game. The $2 million apparently didn't mean anything."

Owner Kevin McClatchy gave general manager Cam Bonifay permission to eat Schourek's contract if he and manager Gene Lamont felt the Pirates were better with Anderson in the rotation.

Their spring numbers were nearly identical. Schourek was 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA and eight strikeouts in 20 innings, and Anderson was 3-1 with a 5.17 ERA and nine strikeouts in 1523 innings.

"I'm not real worried about the baseball side of it," Schourek said. "I thought I threw well this spring and worked out some things I had problems with last season. I think I'll have a productive season for somebody."

Clemente, the 24-year-old nephew of Hall of Fame outfielder Roberto Clemente, was sent to Anaheim for outfielder Norm Hutchins and catcher Jason Dewey.

Clemente had been fighting for a roster spot as a reserve outfielder for Colorado but will get an immediate chance to play for the Angels, who traded center fielder Jim Edmonds to the St. Louis Cardinals last week.

The trade benefits the Rockies because they would have had to place Clemente on waivers if he was cut from their roster. Any other team could have claimed him within two days.

Clemente bounced between the majors and Triple-A Colorado Springs last year but spent the final two months of the season with the Rockies. He hit .253 with eight homers and 25 RBI while playing primarily in center field.

Hutchins, 24, hit .250 with seven homers, 51 RBI and 25 stolen bases at Triple-A Edmonton last year. Dewey, 22, is a converted first baseman who is still trying to adjust defensively behind the plate.

Notes

The Texas Rangers sent prospect Mike Lamb to Triple-A Oklahoma on Wednesday, clearing the way for Tom Evans to be their starting third baseman. Lamb, who hit .324 with 21 homers and 100 RBI in the minors last season, came into spring training as the favorite to replace Todd Zeile. But Evans, a nonroster invitee to camp who spent all last season at Triple-A, beat him out by hitting .310 and tying for second on the club with four homers, including a grand slam. ... The Milwaukee Brewers claimed pitcher Jason Boyd off waivers from Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Boyd, 27, appeared in four games for the Pirates last season and was 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA. ... At Jupiter, Fla., Mark McGwire was removed with stiffness in his back in the third inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' 3-1 win over the Montreal Expos.

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